The City of London Corporation with the support of the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN), has commissioned a research to understand how cultural districts can embed sustainable development practices in their work and by extension, in our cities.

Reflecting on lessons from attending the GCDN 2022 Convening in Lugano, Basadi Dibeela writes about opportunities for cultural planning in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN) and Dubai-based Alserkal Advisory have announced a new arts project uniting cultural districts from across four continents, each…

GCDN is delighted to warmly welcome the newest member to join our network: Powerhouse Museum

Discover the latest episodes of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

GCDN and LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura are delighted to announce that the registrations for the 2022 Annual Convening are now open! The GCDN 2022 convening – our 8th – will take place in Lugano, Switzerland, from the evening of Sunday 29 May to Tuesday 31 May (with optional tours on Wednesday 1 June).

Discover the latest episodes of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

Discover the latest episodes of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

On Monday (29 Nov 2021), GCDN partnered with Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali and the Colombian Ministry of Culture to deliver a 2h online conference in English and Spanish.

Check out the new edition of online magazine Conectando Audiencias, featuring GCDN’s recently released advocacy guide… in Spanish!!

Discover the latest episodes of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

GCDN is delighted to warmly welcome the newest member to join our network: Parcel 110

GCDN is happy to present our new advocacy guide: Cultural Districts – An Investment in Rich Urban Life.

Discover episodes 6 & 7 of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

AEA Consulting is pleased to announce the release of the 2020 Cultural Infrastructure Index. Now in its fifth edition, the Index seeks to measure investment in capital projects in the global cultural sector, identifying projects with a budget of US$10 million or more that were publicly announced or completed within the last calendar year.

Discover episodes 4 & 5 of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

Check out the replay of our latest GCDN Conversations session: Same Old/Brand New – Have We Simply Gone Back to Business as Usual?

On Wednesday, 2 June 2021, we partnered with LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura to hold a half-day virtual event featuring three high-quality discussions about the new realities and challenges for cultural districts and their constituents. If you have missed the event, recordings of the various panels are now available online.

Discover the latest episodes of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

GCDN is delighted to present the newest member to join our network: Newark Museum of Art (NMOA)

We are delighted to announce the launch of The Three Bells – a podcast about culture in its urban context produced by AEA Consulting and the Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network.

GCDN is delighted to present the newest member to join our network: Creative Estuary

GCDN is delighted to present the newest member to join our network: Perth Theatre Trust

GCDN is delighted to present the newest member to join our network: The Masswascut Collaborative

2020 has been an extraordinary and challenging year for all of us. More than ever, this year of adversity has…

Format & agenda: The Covid-19 global pandemic has irrevocably changed the cultural landscape, particularly in terms of the area of…

GCDN is delighted to present the newest affiliate member to join our network: wHY. Founded by Kulapat Yantrasast, wHY is…

In a new report, Capturing Value and Preserving Identity, the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN) describes diverse tools that cultural districts can use to spur investment and create new revenue streams while protecting the local character and neighborhood identity.

AEA Consulting has released the 2019 Cultural Infrastructure Index. Now in its fourth edition, the Index seeks to measure investment in capital projects in the global cultural sector, identifying projects with a budget of US$10 million or more that were publicly announced or completed within a calendar year.

GCDN and LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura are postponing the GCDN Annual Convening from this October to Sunday 31 May – Tuesday, 2 June, 2021, by which time we are anticipating that it is safe to travel and congregate and that a few days in Lugano will be a deeply attractive prospect.

Regina Myer, President, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, talks about the continuing evolution of this vibrant mixed-use downtown; plans and opportunities for…

Over 60 members and external participants joined our third series of GCDN conversations to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on…

 SUMMARY & NOTES Following the interest in the first round of GCDN video calls to discuss the impact of Covid-19,…

On March 23, Tim Jones of Culture Mile used the GCDN list-serv to ask if other members would like to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on cultural districts. The response was high; 58 individuals representing 41 districts replied. 42 went on to join four calls over the next two weeks.

With the global pandemic forcing many professionals to work from home, Arts Centre Melbourne has released a series of guides…

GCDN is delighted to present the newest affiliate member to join our network: DesignSingapore Council. As the national agency that…

GCDN is delighted to present the two newest members to join our network: Grimshaw (affiliate); and MiSK City.

In my advisory role with GCDN, I have been an active advocate on new models that emerged and continue to emerge from the Global South as new tools of agency and alternative learning. I believe it is imperative to include these new precincts as part of the global conversation, as it can only be global when all nations and models are met at an equal measure.

Making a Difference: Agency, Accountability and Impact

Co-hosted by GCDN member LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura in Lugano, Switzerland, 15–17 June, the 2020 Annual Convening will bring together international cultural and civic leaders to shape the agenda for cultural districts in a changing world.

GCDN is delighted to present the two newest members to join our network: Arizona Arts, University of Arizona; and Southbank Centre, London.

Happy New Year! GCDN wishes you all the very best for 2020 – and to start the year on a positive note, we are delighted to present the two newest members to join our network: Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism; and Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage.

Happy Holidays! As the year draws to a close, we look back on the evolution of the Network in 2019 and share some of what’s in store for GCDN in 2020.

GCDN is delighted to present the newest member to join our network: Quartier de la Création (SAMOA) in Nantes.

GCDN is delighted to present the newest affiliate member to join our network: Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC).

GCDN is delighted to present the newest affiliate member to join our network: Dublin’s Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, Temple Bar – represented by Hugh Lane Gallery.

Last week, GCDN convened in Singapore for what has been – thanks to our co-host, our members, our speakers and…

This year’s research report, written by Professor Geoffrey Crossick, analyses the different ways social impact is defined; draws out current…

AEA Consulting is pleased to announce the release of the 2018 Cultural Infrastructure Index. Now in its third edition, the Index seeks…

GCDN is delighted to present the newest affiliate member to join our network: Wordsearch. Wordsearch are the world’s pre-eminent creative…

GCDN is delighted to present the newest affiliate member to join our network: Cistri, Singapore & Hong Kong – Urbis,…

Today, Andrea and Kim from Kingston Creative joined the GCDN and AEA teams in our London office.

GCDN is delighted to present the newest member to join our network: Harbour Trust – Sydney, Australia. The Harbour Trust…

Opened in 1913, Her Majesty’s Theatre is the oldest continually-running theatre in Adelaide, South Australia. Over the years, ‘the Maj’…

In this special edition of our IN CONVERSATION WITH… series, panel moderator, Adrian Ellis, offers a summary and highlights of the discussion between GCDN Members taking part in the session entitled Building A Creative Economy – The Transformation of Urban Spaces into Cultural and Educational District at UNFOLD’s 2nd annual Art XChange in Bahrain.

We’re delighted to welcome Anupam Yog to the team as Adviser. Anupam is a creative strategist with experience in competitive positioning of countries, cities, destinations and places. Passionate about urban innovation, he is an avid community organizer and champion for walkable cities.

GCDN members will gather for a special event in Bahrain this March. Discover the full programme of UNFOLD’s 2nd annual Art…

In this special edition of our IN CONVERSATION WITH… series, we listen in on a conversation between GCDN members about…

GCDN is delighted to introduce the newest member to join our network: HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast, Australia.

Discover the newest edition of our IN CONVERSATION WITH… series

Happy New Year! 2019 promises a lot to look forward to, including our annual convening co-hosted by the National Museum…

Professor Geoff Crossick has kicked off GCDN’s next research piece, which will analyse the Social Impact of Cultural Districts and include international case studies, best practice and a recommended framework for organisations to set strategic objectives and evaluate their own impact.

Philadelphia’s Cherry Street Pier opened last month. The new cultural hub supported by William Penn Foundation offers a range of public art and design including luminous futuristic art pieces brought to the Pier by Philadelphia Contemporary in partnership with Montreal-based group Creos, a partnership sparked during the GCDN 2016 Convening in Brooklyn.

GCDN is delighted to welcome five new members over the last few months: Better Bankside, in London; The Music Center, in Los Angeles; The Toledo Museum of Art, in Toledo, Ohio; The Onassis Foundation in Athens, together with its affiliate foundation in New York; and Kingston Creative, from Kingston, Jamaica.

This summer I attended the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, joining ministers of culture and delegations of cultural leaders from 45…

In September, Beatrice Pembroke (GCDN) chaired a panel on the responsibilities of anchor organisations with GCDN members Kingsley Jaysekera (WKCD), Claire Spencer (Arts Centre Melbourne) and Hahna Busch (Left Bank Co) at the 2018 Association of Asia-Pacific Performing Arts Centres Conference hosted by Auckland Live.